Madil Hardis is a German musician living in London and she has released a new single “Holding On“. This is a cover of the 2017 track from the electronic wizards, Empathy Test, which Hardis has admitted is one of her favourite bands.
A simple piano line is all that is required to kick this off, with Hardis’ solemn vocal performance an emotional affair, beseeching. Her angelic tones backing herself up in rounds that echo the fragility of life.
Such a sensuous sadness being explored in this version. Hardis’ vocals are both electrically mesmerising and gut wrenching all at the same time, still haunting you after the song has long finished. Love, loss and the mourning, fill the cup of this pared down version of the excellent “Holding On” by Madil Hardis.
Ireland is a land of poets and musicians, and in this vein there is the duo of Liam O Callaghan (vocals, guitars) and Edward Butt (guitars) in Arctic Lights. The 3rd of February sees the release of their new single “Holy Joe” and they are joined by Max Mac on drums and playing tambourine Nora O’Neill.
You are greeted with brash guitars, that lead into the thundering drums and synths that chime in. O’Callaghan’s purposeful whispers are perfect with the rock attitude and a pinch of psychedelia giving it a funky edge.
The guys have stated that they need to change things up or they get bored and they have certainly have done that. The very name “Holy Joe” had me thinking of The Cult’s “Resurrection Joe” but the track far more reminds me of the equally wonderful Love And Rockets. The track powers along, a perfect blend of alt rock creating an urge to live life to the fullest. So, like Marc Bolan said, get it on with Arctic Lights and “Holy Joe“.
New band time!!!! Electrinity are from Piraeus, in Greece and they have dropped their debut maxi single, “Rise“. This is an electro rock project by duo Zan Pol (vocals, bass) and Antonis Adelfidis (synthesizers, samples, drums) and the single was released on February the 1st.
As a maxi single there are two songs to delight you. The first is “Aggressive A.I.“, a mixture of rising keyboards and electric guitar, warning before the grave alert to something seriously wrong. The machines are no longer safe to be around as the synths illuminate our modern foe, while the vocals tell you of our worse nightmare. The second single is “Love“, though, in the words of PIL, this is not a love song. A cry in the electro wilderness to not be overlooked and the bass punctuate the lyrics. The synths exude a darkwave quality.
Electrinity look to be generating a theme that incorporates the vision of Terminator and Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner, with darker electro sound, the bass giving it that slightly more dirty, grungy sound. What will they do next? If you want to find out then support a new act in Electrinity and “Rise“.
Do you do Visual Kei? I have long loved bands like X Japan, D’espairsRay and Dir En Grey for both their look and that certain key sound that Japanese Visual Kei bands have. So you might imagine my excitement and delight when I found the single “Pretend To Pray” by Psycho Sonic Boom in my in box. Psycho Sonic Boom is the brain child of Californian born Kairu, whom now resides in Japan and began this project back in 2010.
The clean vocals are entrancing from the first, full of flirtatious promises that will probably never be fulfilled, A light touch with the drums until the track hits the chorus. The guitars almost float gracefully over the top of all, ringing out to call you in like sirens to the sailors.
I truly love the attention to detail from the melodies and delicate guitar work to the video with the beautiful makeup and clothing. It is hard to tell if Visual Kei borrowed from deathrock or vice versa but they do share many similar elements and there is definitely an air of dark seduction and lingering fingers down the spine appeal. Let Psycho Sonic Boom show you how to “Pretend To Pray“.
Peter Endall is Suburban Spell and last year he dropped his second album, Split Levels. 1st of February, 2023 sees the Melbourne musician handing five, 80s inspired, synthwave tracks off the forementioned album, to five other musicians to invoke their style and magic on each.
The first of the tracks is “The Lonely Man” remixed by the goth meister himself, William Faith (Faith & TheMuse, Christian Death, Mephisto Walz, The Bellwether Syndicate). Faith has added his signature guitar to the mix which gives this song a completely goth rock flavour. You aren’t wrong if you pick me for a big Faith fan and lets face it, the mix does not prove me wrong. Robots In Love is Elenor Rayner, whom has definitely made a splash with her emotional electronic mixes, has taken on the song, “Feel No More” creating an electronic piece that glitches and pops, yet having this dazzling spinning quality.
Andrew Dun remixes “Driving at Night” under the project name Ontic. The Ontic mix is trance like, smooth and silken molten dripping golden synths with electro vocals. Staying with the electronic vocalisation is the “I Take Exception” mix by Tragic Impulse, aka Paul Graham, that buzzes like the synapses of the nervous system, firing away. Fifth and last is from Valerio Rivieccio and his project Kurs, but in no way is this the least, merging his cyber industrial into “Control” creating an magnificent urgency and need that soars above the mundane world.
Actually, this EP is rather breath taking. Each track has been imbued with the talent of the mixer and taken them to a new level. These are all Endall’s songs and so that seed does not change, but definitely music has been given new wings to spread, and what glorious wings they are. A global collaboration for a brilliant EP. Get caught in the Suburban Spell and enjoy Split Levels Remixes.
Colorado goth band, Plague Garden formed just over three years ago, with members Fernando Altonaga and Angelo Atencio, and in that time, rather impressively, have released an album a year. The latest was unleashed on Halloween of 2022, named Blue Captain on the label Bleeding Light Music.
The bass conjures thoughts of The Damned or The Cure, as the album starts off with “Tonight” and breaks into a cool barrage of post-punk jangling guitar. The vocals echoing in the beautiful shadows of nightfall with a drum machine punctuating the thick air. The serpentine winding of “Land Of The Free” is a commentary that not everyone is so free in a land where money and privilege can buy you everything. The single “Blue Captain” has the tendrils of The Cure’sPornography curling all over it from the curt beats to the wandering guitar that graces your ears, and it almost seems you can hear the waves of all hope lost, washing up onto shore. So we descend into the depths, with tones of early 80s Sisters Of Mercy in the intro, to be “Bathed In Fire“, a holy baptism by flame. The rhythm pickups in the mood ridden “We Will Be Forgotten” with it’s fusion of gothic roc\k with electronics, which is perfect to set up the last track “Cry” in its sorrowful lament, though you cannot truly be so sad when you hear that twisting guitar.
You can’t deny hearing the musical influences for these two gentlemen but at the same time they are not trying to be those bands, rather paying homage and building their own music from what they love. Plague Garden have gone for creating beauty from simple good writing and that always gives the music more heart. Something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue…. this is Blue Captain.
1993 in Gothenburg, Sweden, Ablaze My Sorrow came into being, along the way breaking up in 2006 and then reforming in 2011 whilst delivering their melodious metal tunes. As of the 27th of January, a new EP was released called The Loss Of All Hope, out on Black Lion Records, which also marks 30 years since the band’s humble beginnings. Ablaze My Sorrow consists of members Anders Brorsson (bass), Magnus Carlsson (guitars), Alex Bengtsson (drums), Dennie Lindén (guitars) and Jonas Udd (vocals).
The harmonisation of vocals kicks off “Transfiguration (Way of The Strong)” and then the blast beats hit with the ferocity of the guitars, Udd’s vocals growl gutturally at first and then come clean, while the lyrics speak of the indomitable inheriting the Earth….If Jesus made wine out of water, Then I’ll make wolves out of sheep. The drums push the guitars ever upwards in “Boundless“, reaching forth, becoming overwhelming in it’s sentiment and drowning in a sadness while wishing to be free,
“Rotten To The Core” is pure and unadulterated rage that spews forth condemning those who choose to not think for themselves, matched to brutality of the music. I love the guitar work in “Enclosed In Crystals Of Ice“, smoothly wrapping around each other while the pained vocals scrap up against them like the cruel frost of winter.
I am genuinely in awe of singers that can go from growling to clean within the blink of an eye, though Udd does more of the growling, which for me is a pity as he has a great set of pipes. The duelling and entwined guitars and overall sound, reminds me of other bands such as Sentenced, Amorphis and Paradise Lost, who have that knack of sending shivers up your spine or wrenching your heart straight out of your chest. All the angst, all the pain and The Loss Of All Hope is brought to you by Ablaze My Sorrow.
Enhanced humans are running awry in New Jersey, making electro-gothic music. The father/son combination of Greg Bullock (lead vocal and synthesizers) and Brydon Bullock (drums/percussion, backing vocals), respectively, are the core of Cyborg Amok and towards the end of 2022, they released the album Etiam. There is also additional musical help from Adam Vaccarelli, playing bass on all songs (except “Wicked Close“) and Frani Lugo with guitar on “(Some) Sleep Tonight.”.
Did you know that the 1975 David Bowie single “Golden Years“, off the Station To Station album was originally written by Bowie for Elvis Presley, who turned it down and gave Bowie one of his highest charting singles in the USA? More fool him we say and the first track from Cyborg Amok is a cover of this classic, and this version is slower and a little more introspective, like an internal soliloquy. Join the shamanistic ritual for “(Some) Sleep Tonight” for those who are deprived of such things, thronged with foreboding bass and heavy guitar, while “Wicked Close” is definitely more electro/industrial flavoured with a leaning to science fiction, the synths creating a soundscape and yet there is a very funk based bass line that invades the lulls.
Chiming intonations break into guitars and a goth rock phantasm of love lost in “Black Well House (a ghost story)” with a chorus to get the chills. Now, any track with the title “Fire Dance“, instantly makes me think of Killing Joke, but this is not that song. Twinkling keyboard notes and lyrics about a rain of fire from the heavens above, creating chaos. “Toxic 1’s” has a creeping air about it with the disturbing guttural gurgling in the background in comparison to the clean vocals. The guitars with the changing drum rhythms are definitely a brilliant addition to keep you on edge. So the last track, “Iron Clad Heart” is languid and serpentine in its execution, biding its time, as you slip over the edge.
There is indeed a interesting dichotomy at work here. Each track seems to have it’s own blend of styles, not overwhelming but rather enough hear those influences merge with each other to create something you can attribute as Cyborg Amok with mixtures of gothic rock, synthwave, industrial and even a bit of glam. Giving a voice to these mixtures takes a bit of skill, so have a listen to Etaim,,, your inner cybernetic humanoid will thank you for it.
Always exciting to see a band releasing their debut single and hearing their style. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, is the darkwave duo Now After Nothing, with the single “Sick Fix“, out on the 27th of January. Vocalist Matt Spatial and drummer Michael Allen are Now After Nothing and they are joined by the guitar virtuoso, MarkGemini Thwaite (MGT). Just as impressively is the having the mixing done by Carl Glanville, who has worked with U2 and Joan Jett, and the mastering by John Davis, with names like Placebo, Jesus & Mary Chain and Suede under his belt.
A deluge of guitar and bass hits your ears, both raucous and refined at the same time. It is a punk like fevour that grips and further enforced with the vocals from Spatial, MGT’s guitar work and the synths moving together in a sinuous dance, fluid and whirling in a controlled tempest, while Allen gives us the drumbeats that keep this thunderous rhythm gracing our ears.
I was at one of the lowest points of my life and without a musical outlet. I was damaged, defeated, and deflated. One day in New York City, riding through Central Park with earbuds in place, I rediscovered a band that didn’t initially resonate with me. Hearing them this time was different though – I felt the spark. That emotionalconnection to a newly-discovered piece of music was the proverbial kick-in-the-ass I needed to ‘crawl out of cracks below.’ When I arrived home, I dusted of my studio gear and opened up files of previously unfinished song ideas, one of which was a rather bare recording of just a single bass line. It caught my ear and by the day’s end, Sick Fix was complete from start to finish. Listening back to it, I felt alive again. I felt the same spark I had felt that day in Central Park that inspired me and reminded me I had more music inside of me. I wasn’t going to let myself wither away. Though the band name came later, Now After Nothing was really born on that day, which is why Sick Fix undoubtedly needed to be our first single.”- Matt Spatial
So, there is great energy in this track and yes there is definitely a hat firmly tipped towards the old school post-punk such as Bauhaus, but I also hear strains of Alien Sex Fiend and Virgin Prunes in that maelstrom. Yes, originally I believed these guys were actually British going on sound alone, with their wonderful synergy and enthusiasm but don’t think you are getting some old rehash. “Sick Fix” is a wonderfully modern track and I am eager to see what Now After Nothing bring to the table next.
What is “Maść na wszy“? Would you believe me if I said it means ointment forlice and this is the title to the single for Monument Zero. Darek Jackowski (wind instruments), Łukasz Bejnar (laptop) and Tomek Osiński (vocals) are based in Wroclaw, Poland creating their own style of electronic music.
Labelled a paramedical romance, the wind instrument sounds like it is being strangled to death while electronic servos work overtime, and eviscerating noise gives the semblance of a jazz war zone in a factory. The vocals are stark against the melancholia of the saxophone and fluctuating buzzing.
Oddly satisfying with all these elements together, culminating into something that by all rights, should pull itself apart at the seams and yet seems to be actually quite cohesive. I say electronic crossed with jazz and beat poetry might be my best stab at eloquently describing Monument Zero’s style, and this is lice removing mood music.
Onyx Music Reviews 